quote:Originally posted by NANCY: If I were an organizer, I would want to do everything I could to promote Pro/Am comps and to increase not just the number of entries but also the number of participants.
One problem is that for now organizers seem to feel that the prime way to promote events is by luring teachers who bring students with lots of entries, so the focus is on what serves the teachers, not what serves the students. That's what was obviously wrong with the competition Nancy describes, in which all the incentives were for the teacher to enter his student in as many categories as possible, and there didn't seem to be any immediate incentive (or rules) to stop him.
None of this will change until pro=am students give the teachers and organizers a reason to change. So, since, as Nancy says, this topic comes up often, the way to advance the discussion now is to take Laura's suggestion of a pro-am association and begin brainstorming on how to actually form this. The problems are clear, and I believe Laura has made a good start in articulating solutions. But the NDCA won't be very impressed or responsive to demands (or even suggestions) from a few students.
The Internet is a great tool and a starting place. Why don't Laura and some others who participate in pro-am draw up a statement of principles and a plan for such an organization? Then, using this board, start enlisting pro-am dancers who will be going to comps around the country in the coming months to distribute flyers urging folks to join an organization. Start a few regional chapters using e-mail as the primary means of communication, and see where it goes. It could be revolutionary.You might even get some help and support from other organizations like Usabda and PDF.
<<GK>>
Posted
Nancy,
Your analysis of how the Po/Am comps is approached is amazingly astute and to the point.
"It seems to me that so far, the organizer's approach seems to be to make the comps as financially appealing to teachers as possible and then leave it up to the teachers to promote the comps to the students. "
I love dancing, but have experienced more frustration about this. The dance industry has lost thousands and thousands of my money because it repeatedly turns me off. I love the comps, but the whole approach usually sickens me. This year I was so fed up with an organizer of a large event that I canceled at the last minute. I lost my non-refundable dance fees, but I wasn't going to lose any more. My poor teacher got caught in the middle. She got second place top teacher and it was close enough that if I had gone, she would have gotten first.
I personally love the idea of a Pro/Am organization. The Pro/Ams are the ones who bankroll the competitions. If the Pro/Ams did not go, there would not be a competition as we know it. While I don't mean to be an instigitator, can you imagine what the effect of a nonviolent strike of a comp would do? Take a lesson from the Alabama Civil Rights Bus Strikes. The comps need the Pro Ams and I personally would love to see everyone just not go to a particular comp for once. The Ams of the Pro/Ams have all the power, they just don't realize it.
I just went on the NDCA site and got the name of all the officers and directors of NDCA and emailed them a letter suggesting that they form a Pro/Am Competition committee. It will be interesting to see if I hear back from anyone.
the president of the NDCA is Brian McDonald. Brian happens to be Gary McDonald's father, and i've seen Gary post here a lot of times so maybe he can suggest this to his father also!
quote:Originally posted by NANCY: I just went on the NDCA site and got the name of all the officers and directors of NDCA and emailed them a letter suggesting that they form a Pro/Am Competition committee. It will be interesting to see if I hear back from anyone.
Would you mind sharing your letter? I'm curious to know what you asked the committee to accomplish.
I think we could use some numbers and statistics about pro-am participation. What do you think of collecting all the comp programs that you have, sending them to one of us (a volunteer) who will then provide some statistics about the number of participants, number of entries, number of teachers, etc. I am thinking that eventually this would develop into a database structure, not just counting. In other words, how many comps/entries did each participant (am and pro) have, and in which events. It is my hunch that there is a small number of dedicated amateurs who do a lot of events, and a lot of entries, and a much larger number of students who do far fewer events/entries. I think we need to devise strategies for each group, and need to be aware of the concerns and desires of each group, separately. Same thing goes for the pros, many teachers who have few entries, and a few heavy hitters, who probably will not appreciate our efforts because they might be directly affected. Of course, NDCA itself must have such a database, because that is how they tally points for their top student awards, and their database also has results. I don't think they will let us share their resources, though.
If I were you folks, I would also contact Richard booth, who is the current head of the Professional Dancers Assoc., which has a seat on the NDCA board. I believe the PDF's members have an interest in pro=am issues because of the many pros who do pro-am, and I believe that many of them are unhappy with the current situation--the lack of rules and the way some teachers seem to be taking advantage of the situation.
I believe you can find Booth's e-mail address on the NDCA site under the membership directories section...
<<FeatherFinish>>
Posted
quote:Originally posted by Crystal: Of course, NDCA itself must have such a database, because that is how they tally points for their top student awards, and their database also has results. I don't think they will let us share their resources, though.
Remember, that the NDCA posts results for many comps now, where you can clearly download pro-am event results. One way to do this is to go not to the NDCA website....
************* Non-sponsor site has been deleted per policies of forum.
Laura, Here is a copy of the letter that I sent him. I bet it would help if each of us who posts on Dancescape and cares about Pro/Am wrote to him. I copied all the officers and directors of NDCA.
Dear McDonald, I think it is a great idea to include students in your organization. I have only been taking dance lessons for a year and a half but, like so many other students, I am completely addicted and love it. I have competed in four Pro/Am events so far and have observed two major problems: one, students who compete below catagory; and two, while there may be more entries each year, there seem to be fewer participants, at least at the competition I just attended. I noticed on the NDCA web site that there are several committees relating to Dancesport but there is not a commitee for Pro/Am Competitions. Is that a committee that your organization would be intersted in starting? As a new dancer, I hear so much, both pro and con, about Pro/Am events and there doesn't seem to be any organization that is actively working towards standardizing the competitions in a way that works for everyone, the organizers, the teachers and the students. If more is not done to increase the number of participants rather than the entries, it seems like it is only a matter of time before the system collapses as fewer and fewer participants will be asked to cover more and more of the costs. I would definitely like to volunteer to be part of a Pro/Am committee and would promise to work towards win-win solutions. I am a retired lawyer who absolutely loves dancing. Most sincerely, Nancy (I included my last name and email address here)
Crystal, I really like your idea of forming our own data base regarding comps. Rather than send our books into one person which would be an enormous undertaking, I wonder if we could make out a questionaire containing many of the points that you mentioned and then have people volunteer to be responsible for the information that we are seeking.
I guess we have to first decide what it is that we want to find out? I seem to be interested in two things, One, how many people dance below catagory, and two, was the comp I went to the exception or is attendance down everywhere, even if the number of entries is up? And, are entries in fact up?
